Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, a generator, a gearbox, a nacelle, a hub mounted to the nacelle, and one or more rotor blades mounted to the hub. Each of the rotor blades are typically mounted to the hub via a pitch bearing. The pitch bearings are configured to change the pitch angle of each of the blades to capture kinetic energy of the wind using known airfoil principles. The rotor blades transmit the kinetic energy from the wind in the form of rotational energy so as to turn a shaft coupling the rotor blades to the gearbox, or if the gearbox is not used, directly to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be deployed to a utility grid.
Typically, to initially install a pitch bearing and/or to replace one of the existing pitch bearings from the hub, a significantly large crane must be transported to the wind turbine site in order to provide a means for lifting and/or lowering the pitch bearing to the hub that is mounted atop the tower. Unfortunately, it is often extremely expensive to both transport the crane to the wind turbine site and operate the crane for the amount of time necessary to install and/or replace the pitch bearing(s). As a result, the costs of employing such large cranes currently accounts for a significant portion of the overall costs associated with initial wind turbine installations and pitch bearing maintenance operations.
Accordingly, improved methods and related systems for replacing pitch bearings that do not require the use of a significantly large crane would be welcomed in the technology.